Holy Sacrifice

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.”
John 17:13-19 NLT

That was the thing about Jesus’ death – He made Himself a holy sacrifice. He allowed His death to take place, even though He had every option at His Father’s disposal to stop it. And His sacrifice involved the death of a sinless Person so it was the ultimate miscarriage of justice. So why did Jesus go through with one of the most painful deaths mankind has ever so cruelly invented?

Right at the beginning of His ministry Jesus told Nicodemus how His life would end. John 3:14-15, “And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life“. Throughout Jesus’ three years or so in His ministry to His people, the spectre of the Cross was hanging over Him. To a human person with that knowledge, that would immediately initiate a mode of life focussed on self-preservation, and if Jesus adopted the attitude, then that would have fatally skewed the impact of His ministry years. And we of course remember the Old Testament prophetic ministries that didn’t end well – we can read about some of them in Hebrews 11. These were prophets and men of God who cared little for their lives, in the light of their focus and dedication to speaking out God’s message. But how was Jesus’ death a “holy sacrifice”?  

Jesus’ ministry was to His own people, the Jews. They were a people who were well used to blood sacrifices as part of their religion. To them, blood had a special significance. In Leviticus 5:5-6, 9 we read, “When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin. Then you must bring to the Lord as the penalty for your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This is a sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord … Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the sides of the altar, and the rest of the blood will be drained out at the base of the altar. This is an offering for sin“. But we can find out Jesus’ mission in Hebrews 10:8-10, “First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time“. Accepting the sacrifice of Jesus would be of seismic proportions to the Jews. To do away with the old covenant of blood sacrifices with a once and for all sacrifice by the sinless God-Man Jesus was too big a leap for most of them, even though there had been so many Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah. 

The writer of the Hebrews epistle put his finger on the truth and purpose of Jesus’ sacrifice when he wrote, “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time”. The blood of Jesus was and is sufficient to fulfil the demands of a sacrifice to appease God’s judgement for sin. And it is for that reason that when people come to stand before God it will not be their good works that will save them. There is only one remedy for sin and that is through Jesus’ “holy sacrifice”. There are heart-wrenching stories of good people who have gone to extraordinary lengths to help their friends and relatives, even putting their own lives in danger in the process. There are also many stories of people who sit at the bedside of a dying relative comforting themselves in their grief with the thought that they will see them again one day, thinking that their grandmother will soon be comforted in Heaven by their husband/mother/father who died before them. Such feelings also emerge in the crematorium as the coffin disappears behind the curtain, fuelled by thoughts that there must be something good the other side of the Great Divide. And I’m sure that God’s mercy will be present in the case of all human beings who die and leave this life. But His love has to be tempered by His holiness and righteousness. Nothing sinful can ever enter into heaven to be in the presence of God. If God allows everyone into Heaven, regardless of whether or not the person believed in Him, regardless of whether or not they have confessed their sins, then what was the point of Jesus’ “holy sacrifice”? Hmmm….  

Dear Father God. You are holy and righteous, and perfect in all Your ways. We worship You today. Amen.

The Time Has Come

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this to indicate how he was going to die.“
John 12:30-33 NLT

‭‭The coming of the Greeks seemed to be a trigger starting the sequence of events that culminated in Jesus’ death and resurrection and finally, the return to His Heavenly home. In John 12:23 we read, “Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.” It was almost as though His ministry to His people, the Jews, had gone as far as it needed, and the demands from the Gentiles, the “Greeks”, exposed the ultimate reason as to why Jesus came, which was the salvation of the world. Jesus was clear about the limits of His mission, as we read in the account of the Syro-Phoenician Gentile woman in Matthew 15:24, “Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”” The mission of salvation for the Gentiles happened through the Apostles later, as we read in Acts 13:46-47, “Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’””

In our verses from John 12 today, Jesus said, “The time for judging this world has come”. We know, with the benefit of hindsight, that the final judgement won’t happen until after the End Times events described in John’s Revelation (see Revelation 20:11-15). And Jesus said in John 3:17, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” But Jesus was speaking about His upcoming death on the cross at Calvary, at which point there will be judgement of sin, and evil will forever be defeated. ‭‭From this point, the devil’s hold over mankind was to be forever broken, and no longer would he have a hold over God’s children.

Before Calvary, the remedy for sin was the shedding of the blood of animals. Hebrews 9:12-14, “With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” Praise God! We are now set free of evil and sin, and are in bondage to the devil no more.

So, two thousand years ago, the time had come for the judgement of sin and evil, and that time is still with us today. We pilgrims have the opportunity to set free all those around us as we declare the Good News to those in bondage to sin. The blood of Christ has set us free forever.

Dear Father God. Your master plan for the salvation of all on this planet has opened the door for everyone to respond to Your invitation. We pray for opportunities to reach those who are ready and waiting to hear about You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.